The number of people suffering from obesity has exploded in recent years. According to the textbook A Wellness Way of Life, “34.34% of American adults are obese. In 1960-62 the percentage was thirteen percent” (A Wellness Way of Life, page 264). The obesity problem is not unique to the United States, but has become a global health problem of epidemic proportions. Many factors, such as diet and physical activity, contribute to obesity. However, scientists have recently discovered a surprising link between obesity and lack of sleep. Numerous studies have been conducted to confirm this link, and while inconclusive, these studies support the idea that lack of sleep may be a major cause of obesity today. Researchers have found that sleep deprivation reduces glucose, increases blood pressure, and deregulates appetite. A Wellness Way of Life states: Insufficient sleep appears to affect hormones that regulate appetite and body weight. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost. These hormonal changes combined with more time awake to eat and feeling too tired to exercise contribute to weight gain. (A Wellness Way of Life, page 375) Eve Van Cauter, an endocrinologist at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, conducted a study on the effects of sleep on the body. He monitored every system in his young volunteers' bodies as they slept. They slept only 4 hours for six nights. According to the study “some volunteers began the journey towards diabetes in just six days” (Cauter). Van Cauter made a shocking discovery: lack of sleep could be linked to obesity. Its volunteers also found a slight decline in leptin levels, which is a hormone… middle of paper… considered to contribute to the obesity epidemic, for example in social, cultural and environmental situations. These studies, however, support the idea that lack of sleep may be a major cause of obesity today. Work Cited Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Study Team. University of Bristol. ALSPCS, 2014. Web. 6 March 2014A lifestyle dedicated to well-being. Robbins, Gwen, Debbie Powers and Sharon Burgess. 10th ed. Madison, Wis.: WCB Brown & Benchmark Publishers, 1994. 264. Print.Cauter, Eve Van. “The science of sleep”. CBS News. 60 Minutes, June 15, 2008. Web. March 6, 2014Harvard School of Public Health. "Source for Obesity Prevention." Harvard School of Public Health. HSPH and Web. February 18, 2014North American Association for the Study of Obesity. “Short Sleep Duration and Weight Gain.” North American Association for the Study of Obesity. NAASO. 6 September 2012. Web. 2 June. 2014